# Norway, isn't that in Sweden? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389 "2004-03-10T01:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/61 "2004-03-10T15:23:18Z")
> [@hildea](#): > > On preview: **Floater** , that’s correct in Norwegian (and probably in other Nordic countries), but not neccessarily in English ([example](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=scandinavia)). The Radio Sweden English language brodcasts always use this distinction when people ask about it. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/62 "2004-03-10T15:24:31Z")
> [@Balduran](#): > > So how come Norway got all the coastline? Doesn’t that cheese off Sweden and Finland? Have you ever seen a map of Scandinavia and the Baltic? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/63 "2004-03-10T15:29:32Z")
> [@kniz](#): > > My wife and I are going to Sweden in May and will be flying into Norway and then drive or take a train. When we decided to go I didn’t need a map, until it came to finding out where the city in Norway is located. My wife and I did that the year before last.We flew into Stocholm, drove to Norway, went north of the Arctic circle, drove down to Denmark, and then back to Stockholm. We had a great time and the people were wonderful. Our favorite food was “dagens meny” (inside joke) and we always snickered when we saw the sign “Pass Farten”. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/64 "2004-03-10T15:36:33Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Our favorite food was “dagens meny” (inside joke) and we always snickered when we saw the sign “Pass Farten”. You didn’t see any signs about “infart” and “utfart”, not to mention “fatöl” (canned beer)? ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/65 "2004-03-10T15:36:43Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Have you ever seen a map of Scandinavia and the Baltic? 😉 Jeez, okay, **nothern** coastline. Sure you’re from Sweden and not Pedantia? ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/66 "2004-03-10T15:45:38Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > You didn’t see any signs about “infart” and “utfart”, not to mention “fatöl” (canned beer)? Yes, those too. Made me wonder why Scandanavia does not exploit its natural gas resources. ---
**Author:** ![Husker\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Husker\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Husker_Dude)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/67 "2004-03-10T15:47:33Z")
> [@WinstonSmith](#): > > Actually Norway is probably the most important Scandinavian country on account of its large oil export. … Perhaps Bush already has it slated for a brisk invasion? Well if so, rest assured of massive support from both Sweden and Denmark. And yeah **Jervoise** lay off the Norway insults will you. I’ll do the Norway insults here, I’m Danish; it’s my birthright! Did you know the second most used word in Norway is “Norway?” Stupid Norwegians have got whale blubber or their brains and they can’t play football worth shit either and then they speak funny. > > - Rune Hehe… there are hundreds of things you can ridicule Norway for, seriously, but “they speak funny,” is not one of them if you happen to be Danish. There is this well supported theory that Danish people have lost the ability to understand each other ages ago, and only put on a show when foreigners are about, when they are alone they resort to either English, or crude sing language and guttural grunts. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/68 "2004-03-10T15:51:22Z")
> [@kniz](#): > > The one question I can remember is that way over 50% didn’t know that New Mexico was a state. Which is why the automobile license plates say “New Mexico USA”. I could get Finland and Denmark. I would have a 50/50 chance on Norway and Sweden. I would be able to pick most countries general area out on a map, even though I might mix up the Baltic States, for instance. In school, I had a teacher who had us all memorize the states and their capitals, Canadian provinces and territories, and their capitals, and had started on Mexico when we moved and I left that school. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/69 "2004-03-10T15:56:24Z")
> [@hildea](#): > > A handy rule of thumb is:… Swedes are stupid and serious Håll käften, du din jävla norska skithuvud. You know _damn_ well these high foreheads shield some tremendously awesome brainpower. What did they call the Baltic in the 1600s? A Norwegian lake? A Danish lake? No. Y’all know who ran the show back then. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/70 "2004-03-10T16:11:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by gum > I find it amazing enough that you have to learn all 52 states and capitals by heart. \*posted by \ ***Gary T** : > [@](#): > > It’s not as hard as you make it sound, because there are actually only 50 states. 😃 Okay. Back to school for me. In Amsterdam. Which isn’t the capital of Denmark. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/71 "2004-03-10T16:26:11Z")
Looks like a good time for my favorite joke about scandinavians. So as not to offend anyone I’ll refer to them as Scandanavian 1 (S1), 2, and 3. An S1, an S2, and an S3 were bragging about their countries and the desirability of their women. The S1 says “The women in my country are so slim that we can circle their waist with a single hand and touch finger to thumb. And it’s not because our hands are so big, but because their waists are so small.” Not to be out done, the S2 says “The women in my country have legs so graceful that when they sit on a horse their feet touch the ground. And it’s not because our horses are so short, but that the women’s legs are so long.” Hearing this, S3 responds “The women in my country are amazing as well. We can rap them on the buttocks when we leave for work and it will still be jiggling when we return. And it’s not because their buttocks are so big, but that we work so little.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/72 "2004-03-10T16:28:14Z")
> [@gum](#): > > …Amsterdam. Which isn’t the capital of Denmark. 😉 What! When did they change it? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/73 "2004-03-10T16:36:23Z")
> [@jastu](#): > > If it’s of no interest to you then that’s fine. > Personally I developed an interest in world geography and history very early partly from my schooling and partly from my parents very entertaining stories. I couldn’t wait to get out there, to travel and experience different cultures and see all the places I’d heard so much about. Even now I love to read and learn as much as I can. I certainly don’t feel at all superior to someone who doesn’t know basic geography, just surprised that you could have no interest. jastu, I think it’s great that you have such interest and curiosity about other countries and cultures and laud you for it. Such things make life full and interesting. I myself have quite an interest in certain other countries and cultures. My post was in reply to the OP, which posited that people who lacked knowledge of geography, and apparently Scandinavian geography in particular, are “slow,” or by implication, stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/74 "2004-03-10T16:36:35Z")
American television has taught me some European geography. For example, I know that Albania borders on the Adriatic, it’s mostly mountainous, it’s chief export is chrome, and the national anthem is sung to the tune of _When the Saints Go Marching In_. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/75 "2004-03-10T16:39:59Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Sweden is the spoon, right? I know Finland is the one that borders on Russia. > > **Starving Artist** , it’s good to know geography just in case something important happens in another part of the world. On 12/7/41, a lot of people were asking “So where _is_ Pearl Harbor?” Pre-9/11, a lot of people didn’t know what country Kabul was in. Before 1963-4, a lot of people didn’t know where Vietnam was, or thought it was still “French Indo-China”. 'Course, they found out right quick, but why have gaps in your knowledge to begin with? > > (I wonder how long it will be before every country in the world has been the subject of an international news story.) I agree, **Rilchiam**. (And just for the record, I’m not one of those who think Norway is in Sweden.) And after 9/11, like you said, I had greater curiosity about the location of Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, et. al. than I’d had previously and looked them up on a map. I just don’t think it’s a measure of a person’s intelligence or ignorance if they are lacking in knowledge of georaphy, as the OP suggests. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/76 "2004-03-10T16:47:33Z")
> [@Gary T](#): > > What! When did they change it? I had to look it up too. There are two capitals, Amsterdam and the Hague. Guess they can’t figure out which one they want to use. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/77 "2004-03-10T16:50:03Z")
Uh…I also don’t think it’s a measre of a person’s intelligence if the misspell geography as “georaphy.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/78 "2004-03-10T16:52:11Z")
Dammit!!! “Measure,” either! Sheesh! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/79 "2004-03-10T16:52:32Z")
> [@Edward The Head](#): > > I had to look it up too. There are two capitals, Amsterdam and the Hague. Guess they can’t figure out which one they want to use. I’ll try to put this as gently as I can. Neither Amsterdam nor the Hague is a co-capital of _Denmark_. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389/80 "2004-03-10T16:54:01Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Uh…I also don’t think it’s a _measre_ of a person’s intelligence if _the_ misspell geography as “georaphy.” 😉 Dude, slow down. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-isnt-that-in-sweden/233389.md?page=5)